So my tank has been up and running for about a month now. 10g with Tetra EX20 Power filter and ive been changing the filter regular just to see if it helps. My water gets cloudy (milky) everyday. Ill do a %75 water change and it will last about 6 hrs and gets cloudy again. Ive tried the water clearing drops and they have NO affect. When i do the water change, i use the tube cleaner and clean the gravel and there always seems to be a bunch of food/junk that gets sucked up.

I add water back into the tank using the tap water treatment and it just gets foggy again within half a day.

I got rid of a few of my fish that i could since yall told me they were to big for my tank, and havnt gotten my 50g yet, so all i have left is:

1 sucker fish
1 molly
1 baby gold fish
1 red chiclid fish (forgot the name, looks like it smiling all the time, just larger than a golf ball.

Yes i know the gold fish likes cooler water, i keep my water around 75 and they are all doing great. I just havnt found anyone to take the gold fish yet.

Do i need maybe some kinda fish or shrimp to eat all the crap that gets stuck in the rocks? Years ago i had a crab that ate all that stuff and never had to clean the rocks.

What are your water pram numbers for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH of tank water and source water

I would leave the filter media alone for now and keep doing 50% daily water changes and cut back on the amount of food.

It is most likely a bacterial bloom from the cycling process, over feeding, stocking issues.

What kind of substrate are you using?

Are you on city water supply, if so, what kind of dechlorinator are you using and any other additives used

I would not add any more livestock to the tank until you get your stocking issues fixed and the tank cycled properly.

Do you have live plants?

Well i use city water and Tetra water Conditioner. I dont have a nitrate or nitrite tester, i do have a ph and ammonia tester, ill test it again when i get home tonite. It was really high 4.0 for the longest time, havnt checked it recently. I had to change the filter, it was so clogged, it was backing up my water flow.

Im using some kinda white small rocks i got from wallmart. I never rinsed them off when i got them, but ive done water changes everyday, so i thought that would have taken care of any residue.

ok, so i tested the ammonia level last night and it was still at 4.0 or higher. So i decided to take the fish out, drained the whole tank and took all the gravel out and rinsed it all out in a strainer since i never did so in the first place, then cleaned the tank. I added all the rocks back into the tank, then all the decor, air tube, heater.... and filled it back with water, added water cond and let it sit for about 30 mins to let the water temp settle. Then added fish back into the tank.

The water was CRYSTAL CLEAR!!! First time since the tank was started, lol. I tested the ammonia levels again with new water, and it was at 2.0, much better than before, but not perfect, so i added some ammonia detox. This morning the water was still clear, and ill test the ammonia levels tonite.

No, i can do that to tonight, but i assume it does, since i tested right after i filled the tank up. My only problem is that they say that the ammonia detox will show up as ammonia on the tester, so once i add the detox, i have no way of knowing for sure what my actaul tank level is at.

The cloudiness may have been the gravel, since you now say you never rinsed it previously. Of more concern is that in having cleaned everything so thoroughly, you have now killed off most if not all of the nitrifying bacteria, so the cycle is starting anew.

Ammonia in the tap water is something that many have to deal with, and it is handled by using a good water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia along with chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals. As you mention, it will still show in ammonia tests because the conditioners detoxify ammonia by changing it to relatively harmless ammonium; most basic test kits read ammonia/ammonium together as ammonia. The bacteria (and plants) use the ammonium just the same. The only difference is that ammonium is basically harmless to fish.

The issue will be nitrite when it spikes during the cycle. Some water conditioners also detoxify nitrite; Seachem's Prime does, and with fish in the tank this is a good investment at least until the tank is fully cycled (2-8 weeks). The less chemicals you put into the tank the better for the fish and the bacteria. Which is why many of us recommend Prime as a water conditioner, since it handles all these issues.

Partial water changes of 50% even daily will not hurt the cycling, if these are necessary due to high nitrite. Just use a good water conditioner, if not Prime at least one that detoxifies ammonia.

The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.[unknown source]

Something we all need to remember: The fish you've acquired was quite happy not being owned by you, minding its own business. If you’re going to take it under your wing then you’re responsible for it. Every aspect of its life is under your control, from water quality and temperature to swimming space. [Nathan Hill in PFK]

The cloudiness may have been the gravel, since you now say you never rinsed it previously. Of more concern is that in having cleaned everything so thoroughly, you have now killed off most if not all of the nitrifying bacteria, so the cycle is starting anew.

Ammonia in the tap water is something that many have to deal with, and it is handled by using a good water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia along with chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals. As you mention, it will still show in ammonia tests because the conditioners detoxify ammonia by changing it to relatively harmless ammonium; most basic test kits read ammonia/ammonium together as ammonia. The bacteria (and plants) use the ammonium just the same. The only difference is that ammonium is basically harmless to fish.

The issue will be nitrite when it spikes during the cycle. Some water conditioners also detoxify nitrite; Seachem's Prime does, and with fish in the tank this is a good investment at least until the tank is fully cycled (2-8 weeks). The less chemicals you put into the tank the better for the fish and the bacteria. Which is why many of us recommend Prime as a water conditioner, since it handles all these issues.

Partial water changes of 50% even daily will not hurt the cycling, if these are necessary due to high nitrite. Just use a good water conditioner, if not Prime at least one that detoxifies ammonia.

Byron.

I thought the bact was held in the filter media. I left that alone, i drained the water out of the filter, but DID NOT clean the bio disc.

What store can i buy Prime from? What is its cost and what all does it take care of?

I thought the bact was held in the filter media. I left that alone, i drained the water out of the filter, but DID NOT clean the bio disc.

What store can i buy Prime from? What is its cost and what all does it take care of?

A lot of nitrifying bacteria live in the filter media, but they also colonize all hard surfaces under water; plant leaves, wood, rocks, grains of gravel/sand, tank walls are all home to nitrosomonas and nitrospira bacteria. In a well-planted tank, more bacteria live in the tank than in the filter media. As you retained the filter media, and presumably kept it wet--drying out kills these bacteria, as will lack of oxygen as when an enclosed filter (canister, etc) is shut off for several hours--it will help to re-start the cycle.

Any fish store that carries Seachem products will probably have Prime, it is their water conditioner; I've no idea on cost, here in Canada it is one of the more expensive but not overly so considering what it does. It detoxifies chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and heavy metals. There may be other conditioners that also do all this, I haven't come across them, and there are others that do some of this. As I mentioned previously, using a single product to handle several necessary tasks is always, in my opinion, preferable to using two or more different products. They are chemicals, and the less chemical that goes into a fish tank the better, for fish, plants and bacteria. It also avoids the risk of possible reaction by one substance to another, just as one should never put two medications into an aquarium without a major water change to rid the water of the first one.

The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.[unknown source]

Something we all need to remember: The fish you've acquired was quite happy not being owned by you, minding its own business. If you’re going to take it under your wing then you’re responsible for it. Every aspect of its life is under your control, from water quality and temperature to swimming space. [Nathan Hill in PFK]